Scott Glabb

Santa Ana Coach Scott Glabb calls it a test of the mind. El Modena Coach Alan Clinton said the Southern Section Masters wrestling meet can only be described as brutal. In any event, the state qualifying tournament started Friday with wrestlers from 128 schools vying for a first- through eighth-place finish in their respective weight classes to advance to the state meet next week.

In the Division I championships: Calvary Chapel wins easily--Calvary Chapel rolled through the competition at Saturday's Division I wrestling championship, finishing 134 points ahead of second place Goleta Dos Pueblos at El Monte High School. The Eagles crowned three champions, El Modena which finished fourth, Anaheim and Brea Olinda had one each.

Santa Ana, ranked second in the county, defeated No. 5 Irvine to win the El Toro 10-way wrestling tournament Saturday at El Toro High School. The Saints defeated Irvine, 40-17, after both teams posted the best records (7-0) of the two-day, 10-school competition. Irvine kept the score in range until the 160-pound class, where the Vaqueros had to forfeit. Santa Ana senior Brian Schwalm then pinned Matt Johnson in the first period at 171 to begin to put the match out of reach.

Santa Ana's drive toward a state title came to a halt Saturday as the Saints' two top wrestlers were unable to advance to the championship finals of the state championships at the University of Pacific's Spanos Center. In unexpected outcomes, seniors Jose Najera (112 pounds), a 1998 state runner-up, and Jose Leon (119) lost their semifinal matches.

Don Garcia just needed to pick up four points. He grabbed two more for good measure. Top-ranked Calvary Chapel got a pin in the heavyweight match to hold off second-ranked Santa Ana, 32-29, in nonleague wrestling Wednesday at Calvary Chapel. The Eagles picked up the points in Garcia's victory over Eddie Barrios at 1 minute 42 seconds. "I didn't tell him [Garcia] anything," Calvary Chapel Coach John Azevedo said. "He knew what he had to do and he went out there and did it." Led by No.

After opening the meet with three pins, fifth-ranked Santa Ana rolled past No. 4 Santiago, 47-18, in nonleague wrestling Tuesday at Santa Ana High. Santa Ana Coach Scott Glabb said it was imperative that his team get an early lead. "We don't have that much experience at the middle and upper weights, so we had to score as many points as we could in the opening matches," Glabb said. "I bumped some people up and shuffled some people around, so it was nice to get those pins early on."

John Azevedo hates the term rebuilding. Instead, the Calvary Chapel wrestling coach would rather refer to his team's mediocre performance last season as "a time to reload." The Eagles apparently have plenty of ammunition this season and they came out firing Wednesday against Santa Ana, avenging last year's dual-meet defeat in a crushing, 46-14, nonleague victory. "We didn't do anything special," Azevedo said. "We just wanted to go out there and wrestle."

Top-ranked Santa Ana scored its biggest victory of the season, upending defending state champion Calvary Chapel, 43-21, in front of a raucous home crowd Wednesday. The Saints, 9-0 in dual meets, became the first county team to defeat the Eagles since 1991, when Dana Hills beat them. It was Santa Ana's first victory over Calvary Chapel in four meets. "If we were ever going to get them, it was this year," Saint Coach Scott Glabb said. "And it might be awhile before we get them again.

Santa Ana mowed through the first three rounds of the Southern Section Division II dual meet wrestling championships Saturday and then defeated Covina Northview, 54-11, in the title match. "We worked all summer and fall for this," said Santa Ana heavyweight Edwin Arvizo, who pinned Northview's Justin McDowell in 56 seconds. "I really never thought we would lose this. We have been on a mission. And I think we can go all the way and take state."

Santa Ana's Wyatt Howard had no idea that his final match would determine whether his team would take first or second at the Southern Section Division II wrestling finals at Moreno Valley Canyon Springs Saturday night. Howard was focused on one thing: beating defending state champion Chris Lopez of Covina Northview and taking home a 189-pound individual title.